Low Income Parents And School Choice at Hispanic Pundit

Paul Hill, director of the University of Washington’s Center on Reinventing Public Education, has a study that states:

Low-income families scout out and pick the best schools for their children using the same techniques and aspirations as wealthier parents….

In addition to rebutting the stereotype that school choice is a privilege that should be determined by income, the study debunks the perception that low-income parents aren’t interested in their children’s school or are uneducated about what makes a good school.

Instead, the study of 800 families in Denver, Milwaukee and Washington, D.C., highlights experiences that show families brought definite ideas to the school search. They understood what their kids needed in order to learn, and families with older kids conferred with them and made them part of the decision.

The study examined families who have recently moved their children from one school to another. The families visited schools, talked with administrators and teachers and queried family and friends about the schools they liked. When they chose a school, they reported an equal or higher degree of satisfaction than other parents in other schools.

Opponents of school choice, including foes of limited charters under the authority of public school boards that this page has backed, have argued they’re protecting poor parents.

It was a sham argument even before this study proved it so.

The full article can be found here. Link via Newmarks Door here.